Narrative
Skrekiboekoe
Not translated into English
Johannes King · 1886
Synopsis
In this book of frights, written in Sranan Tongo, a Maroon preacher records the dreams and visions that visited him, and weaves into it the history of the Maroons and that of his own family. He reports, among other things, the case of two brothers from Matawai country, François and Abena, both given to witchcraft, the former a poisoner and caster of spells. He describes a village in the grip of the snake cult, where poison is feared and where an accusation of witchcraft can cost everything, but also the remedies that protect against spells.
Context
Between 1864 and 1895, the author filled nearly a thousand pages, always in Sranan Tongo and in a self-taught spelling; the manuscripts are kept in the archives of the Moravian Church, at Zeist and Herrnhut. The account of the visions is dated 1886 by Jan Voorhoeve, but it was not until 1995 that the anthropologist Chris de Beet published the full text in Utrecht, with a Dutch translation; fragments appeared in 1999 in the anthology Mama Sranan. These pages, which show a forest world haunted by the fear of spells, make King the first major writer of the language.
Who it is for
For those interested in religious visions and in the life of the Maroons of Suriname in the nineteenth century, told from the inside.
Prizes and reception
Long kept in manuscript in the archives of a mission, the text earned its author the status of first Sranan writer.